Fluid-pressure-power plant.



L. D. LOVEKIN. FLUID PRESSURE POWER PLANT.

APPLIGATION FILED MAR.5,1910.

Patented Nov. 14, 1911.

6 SHEETSSHEET 1.

L. D. LOVEKIN.

' FLUID PRESSURE POWER PLANT.

APPLICATION FILED MAB. 5,1910.

Patented Nov.14, 1911.

. 6 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

L. D. LOVEKIN.

FLUID PRESSURE POWER PLANT.

APPLICATION FILED MAB. 5,1910.

Patented Nov. 14, 1911.

6 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

L. 1). LOVEKIN. FLUID PRESSURE POWER PLANT.

APPLIO ATION FILED MAR.5, 1910 1,008,726. I Patented Nov.'14,1911

GBHEBTS-BHEET 4.

L, D. ILOVEKIN. FLUID PRESSURE PQWER PLANT.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 5,1910.

Patented Nov. 14, 1911.

6 BHEETS-SHEET 6.

STATES PATENT FFICE.

LUTHER I); LOVEKIN, OF OVERBROOK, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO GERARD DEVEL- OPMENT COMPANY, OF NEW YQRK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

FLUID-PRESSURE-POWER PLANT.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented N V. 14, 1911.

Application filed March 5, 1910. Serial No. 547,394.

T all whom it may concern:

.Be it known that I, LUTHER D. LOVEKIN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Overbrook,.in the county of Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in F luid;Pressure-Power Plants, of whichthe following is a specification.

. My invention relates to new and useful improvements in fluid pressure power plants, and the object is to devise a plant oflarge power producing capacity which will be simple in construction, economical in consumption of the motive agent, and which will obviate the objections hitherto known in the well known types of power plants, and provide features of advantage hitherto unknown in the art. 7

The invention as at present contemplated is capable of wide application and I do not desire to be limited to any particular adaptation but I illustrate the same as applied for producing the motive power for driving the propeller shaft or shafts of marine vessels as the invention has advantages which make it particularly useful in this situation.

In the propulsion of marine vessels there have been three generally accepted types of power plants, namely, the reciprocating steam engine, the steam turbine, and a combinat-ion of the reciprocating engine and turbine.

vantages which render them desirable under purposes. The reciprocating engine has great power, is more or less economical 1n certain conditions but they all have their disadvantages which prevent themfrom attaining an ideal in accomplishing their intended head seas;

The combination of-the' reciprocating engine and turbine has-proven to have the best economy but retains all the disadvantages inherent in the-reciprocating engine." It is,

These systems all have their ad therefore, the object of my present invention to provide an improved system of power propulsion which will have a greater economy than has hitherto been attainable, which will operate with economy at both high or low pressures and speeds, which will v operate with great efficiency with steam at high degrees of superheat, which will be simple in construction, free from reciprocating elements-and in which inertia and vibrationforces will be reduced to a minimum.

In order to accomplish the objects just stated I have invented a system embodying the combination of a' rotary expansion engine with a turbine, thus doing away with the reciprocating movement and complication of the reciprocating engine, and at the same time obtaining to the fullest advantage the economy of the static effort of the steam at highpressures and the kinetic effort of the steam at low pressures, together with practically perfect suitability for high superheat conditions.

To these ends thdhn ention consists in the novel arrangement and combination of the parts to be fully described hereinafter and i the noveltyof which will be particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed.

I have fully and clearly illustrated my invention in the accompanying drawings to be taken as a part of this specification and wherein- V Figure 1 is a diagrammatic plan View of one embodiment of my invention in'which I show a system for driving three propeller shafts, the central shaft being (ll'lVGll by a rotary unit including three rotary engines, and the wing propellers being driven by low pressure turbines which are driven bythe exhaust steam from the rotary engines. Fig. 2 shows another embodiment of the inventionshowing four propeller shafts, the wing shafts being each driven by a unit of rotary engines, whichexhaustdnto' the turbines, the

latter driving the inboard shafts. Fig. 3 is ;a view of another embodiment showing a three shaft drive, in which the central shaft is driven by a turbine and the outboard shafts being each driven by arotary engine unit, both rotary engine units exhausting into the turbine to drive the latter. Fig. 4 is a View in side elevationwith part of the casing. removed of a rotary engine of the type which I have selected to use in my improved system. Fig.1 5 is a longitudinal of the same .invention in which a single shaft is driven by the rotary engines and turbine, Referring of reference,

term, in this instance, being the central or inboard. shaft of a triple screw drive, said shaft being dr'iv'en bya unit consisting of a series of rotary expansion engines, three in the circle of revolution so the shaft will be given an even torque at all points during its revolution, as'indicated in'Fig. 4. Each en-'" to receive steam from a:

gine is designed suitable source so that each exerts its individual power on the shaft. It will be understood that- I do not desire to be limited to any arrangement which includes a plurality of engines, and that I only illustrate and describe such an .embodiment'as being an eflicient example of my invention, which would also include a single rotary expansion engine. As shown in the drawings, these engines are preferably arranged with the axes of rotation of their rotors extending longitudinally of the ship.

The engines of theunit just' described are arranged .to have their' exhausts liberated into the inlet of a multistage steam turbine,

any arrangement being suitable for this .purpose, the exhausts being connected by separate outlets 3, 3, 3, to a trunk 4:, 'thelatter connecting directly to the turbine inlet.

- If desired, suitable means is provided for controlling the exhaust-from the rotary engines to the turbine or turbines in order that therotary engines may be driven independent-l'y of'the turbines, one or more of the rotary engines less than the whole number can be cut off from the turbines. A simple means for accomplishing this result consists in placing a suitable valve 3*in each of the pipes 3, 3, 3, as shown in the drawing.

The turbine is preferably, although not necessarily, of the kind' known as the lowpressure or multistage Parsons type designed to' operate at the greatest efficiency and economy at low pressures, the same being provided with a condenser exhaust to provide for the efiicient passage of the low pressure steam through the turbine. In the present embodiment two turbines are shown eachadapted to drive one of the outboard shafts and it will be understood that both are arranged to receive exhaust steam from the rotary expansion engine, although I do not desire to be limited to any particular number of turbines.

The type of rotary expansion engine to the drawings by characters, and particularlyFig. 1, 1 des-,. ignates a propeller shaft of a propeller sys- ,to rotate the rotor.

general arrangement forms no 2, all arranged to receive. their initial impulses at different points 1I1 U. S. Letters Patent to'G.

or inorder that any' which which 'I have adapted to form part of my improved system is that known as the Herrick engine,

ing a piston between which and a fixed abutment surfacea.moti\-'e agent is used expana in which there is a rotor carrysively to exert its force against-the piston In this type of engine the steam is admitted between the abutment surface and the piston able valve mechanism. The engine and its art of my and is cut off by suitpresent invent-ion except in so ar as it is combined with the turbine, and I' therefore .do notk'deem it q tailed description of the same other than to state, referring to Figs. 4: and 5, that 4* desthrough which extends a necessary to enter-into a .de-

ignates a casing shaft upon which is mounted to turn therewith'a rotor'5 carrying a pistonfi, against,

which the steam is "admitted to exert its force expansively; 7 designates a rotary abutment, arranged above the rotor Sand in rollingfcontact. "with the surface thereof, said abutment being recessed to permit passage ofth'e pistons 6. The inlet is shown at by. the recess in the abutment just after the piston passes the recess, and then be cutofi' The'rotor turns on parts 9, 9 of the casing and passages 10 are provided for conducting 8, and-is in suchpositi'on as to be uncovered by the further rotation of the abutment."

steam from the steam side of the piston to the space between the rotor This balancing principle is covered by the P. Herrick, dated July 13, 1909 and numbered 928,126.

-This engine is what may betermed a high 7 pressure. engine, and 'is designed to take the boilers carrying a pressure steam from of, say, 300. pounds per square inch, an heated to 200 superheat, so that it will be seen that these enginesare capable of working under the most favorable conditions as to pressure and superheat.

As an example of'a situation-in which my present invention may be used, we can take, for purposes of illustration,

tleship, which has a speed of about 20 knots, and a corresponding horse power of about 30,000 and I provide this vessel with three screws as shown in Fig. 1, each of these screws to be driven by a 10,000 horsepowerunit, the screw shafts being driven by a se ries of high pressure Herrick rotary engines on the center shaft, each arranged to take steamat diiferent periods of revolution, and

a low pressure turbine on each of the outer shafts. The high' pressure rotary engines a modern bat- I p and said parts, whereby the load on the rotoris balanced.

will take steam from the boilers which carry I a pressure of 300 pounds per square inch and degrees superheat, or about 500 degrees F. totaltemperature. This steam being admitted to therotary. englnes and expanded down furnish the steam heated to to, 200

to about 7 5- pounds or less, and exhausted from'the rotary engines into the two'outer turbines on the wingshafts, it will: be evi-. dentthat when :thevesseliswgoing at full speed each of the units will'be delivering 10,000 horse power while the water rate for the combined outfit of rotary engines and turbines should not exceed over 129; pounds per horse power. It will be seen by this ar'-' rangement the rotary engine, or' engines,-

take steam at high pressure and at a high degreeof superheat and .will utilize the same economically to drive the center propeller shaft, it being estimated that ,four expan- -sions can be obtainedin the simple rotary engine which, on account of. itssimplicity, will give from 85 to 90 per cent. efliciencyin the system, which is an economy hitherto unattained. The steam exhausting from the rotary engine or engines into the low pressure turbines will drive the wing propeller shafts to the full capacity of the turbine .power so that it will be seen that the driving 'efiect is produced with the most economical consumption of steam; the combination of the rotary expansion engines and the turbines making it possible to utilize substantially the full power 'eflort, of. the steam- 3o ;x vh'ich enters the rotary expansion engine irrespective of leakage in the expansion engines past the pistons, in view 'of the fact that all such leakage passes'into the exhaust" and eventually exerts its effort upon the -tur-- bines.- The metallic clearances between the moving parts in the rotary engine which occasion this leakage insure reliability while .using the high temperatures occasioned by high pressure and superheated steam. In

this arrangement the rotary engine arranged between a high pressure boiler and a low pressure turbine acts to reduce thesteam pressure to a point where it can be effectively used in the turbines v and at the-same time acts as a prime mover itself operated by thesteam passing through it while performing the reducing operation. In other words the rotary expansion engine uses the energy of -tion of "steam, but in which all the primemovers willbe 1-rot'aryin their movements,

so thatall vibration and the inertia forces are substantially obviated.

'-In='F1g. 2 1s shown a power system embodying the same princi le as that "shown in Fig. 1 except that a'slight'l'y different ar- Y I rangement of the parts is necessary in order.

to adapt'the same to 'a quadruple screwv drive." In this arrangement I employ four propeller. shafts arranged parallel to each other as shown at 10 the outer ones of which.

are drivenby a series of Herrick rotaryengines connected to said shaft in any suitable manner, the inner or inboard .shafts being each driven by a low pressure turbine 12,

which is connected to the exhaust of .the rof tary engines in any suitablemanner as,- for instance, byfthe pipes 1.3 discharging nto an inlet pipe l i'v connected to the inlet of the turbine. These turbines may be of the Barsons type, the condensers beingshown at 15. In this arrangement there are substantially two distinct units each of which in- 'cludes a 'series of rotary expansion engines of the Herrick type and a low pressure condenser turbine. In Fig. 3 I have shown another arrangement embodying the same principle shown in Figs. -1 and 2 in which three propeller shafts 16 are employed. In

this arrangement the inner shaftis driven by a low pressure condenser turbine 17, in

thisinstance being provided with two condensers 18, 18. The outershafts are each driven by a series ofI-Ierrick type rotary expansion engines arranged on opposite sides of the turbine and having their exhaust connectedto the inlet of the turbine by suitable pipe connections, as shown atl9.

' In Fig. 61 I have shown a simple embo dia 1116110 oft-he invention in which the rotary expansion engines .and the turbine are arranged upon the same shaft, both being 091- pable of driving the same. In this view 20 indicates the shaft, 21, 21,. 21, the series of rotary engines, 22 the turbine and 23, the condenser connected with the latter. The general operation of the rotary engines and the turbine is. the same as thatheretofore described, and'eith'er both or. one of said units may be used to drive said shaft. For instance, should. it be .desired'to drive the shaft by the rotary expansion-engines alone, 1 the'exhaust therefrom to the turbine may be" cut off andthe rotor of the turbine-be permitted to .run in a vacuum. #The connections between the rotary expansion engine's and the turbine areshown as consisting of the exhaust conduits 24; emptying into a trunk 25 connected-to the inlet-of the turbine- As applied to marine propulsion the system de scribed has1a'nother important advantagewhich is due to the'fact that the ability'of the rotary. engine to be designe'd for a low speed of revolution enables a propeller wheel of the'highest possible efiiciency to be designed, .and at the same time, a larger diameter of propellencan-be used vwith the greatest possible 'advantagesg'for it is wellknown that in driving vessels intoahead sea, the larger diameter 'ofpropeller wheel' has every advantage'over the small wheel, necessitated by the speedfof {the turbine, on

account of the zjduced slip 'lobtained. An-

other edvantag ts feature presentfin con-' nection'with this system is, that owing to the fact that the exhaust steam vis-delivered into 5 age that. does occur to. pass tothe'exhaust side of the rotary engine, and be finally. utilized within the turbine itself.

While I have shown and briefl described a particular type of rotary expansionengine as forming part of my new system, I do not desire to be limited to any particular'type of rotary expansion engine, but have selected the Herrick type for the reason that it has proved successful in accomplishing the de siredresults as to economy and adaptability to my purpose in actual tests under working conditions. When I-use the term rotary expansion engine I mean that type of entated, use of steam as a motlve fluld, as the invengine in which the fluidis admitted and cut' off, the charge admitted exerting .its force expansively between an abutment and a rotating ortion, whereby the latter is 1'0- or do I wish to be limited to the tion contemplates the use of a fluid exploded or burned as well as simplyexpanded without chemical change. v

i Copies o f this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe 'Washington, D. G.

iston and other 'Having thus deseribed my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is 4 1. Iii-combination, a rotary expansion engine comprising a casing, a rotary piston thereiticcleared from the casing, a multistageturbine separate and distinct from the rotary expansion engine, said engine and turbine being'mounted on separate shafts whereby the steam driving the piston of the rotary expansion engine and passing the cleared portions thereof is exhausted "into the turbine.

2. In comblnat-ion, a'multiple cylinder r0- tary engine, eachcylinder contalning a rotary piston cleared from the casing and said pistons being set at different points relative to each other in the cycle ofrevolut1on,

a multistage turbine, said engine and turbine-being mounted on separate shafts disconnected from each other, and means whereby the exhausts from the engine cylinders are exhausted successively into the turbine.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of .two subscribing witnesses.

LUTHER D. LOVEKIN. Witnesses J F. ANDREWs, N. H. HAGGERTY.

Commissioner of Patents,

disconnected from each other, and means 

